


To Your Beacon in the Gloom

by SocialDegenerate



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Romance, Slow Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 18:38:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18287987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SocialDegenerate/pseuds/SocialDegenerate
Summary: During the rebuilding of Insomnia, Ignis and Gladio take a day off.“It’s so peaceful up here,” Ignis said, leaning back on his hands with his long legs stretched out in front of him. For once it didn’t seem like the weight of the world was bearing down on him, and Gladio grinned helplessly wide when Ignis shuffled closer and leaned against Gladio, his head resting on Gladio’s shoulder.





	To Your Beacon in the Gloom

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a while back for the Memento Amare Gladnis zine.

Where once the heat of the summer sun beating down on him might have made him complain, Gladio didn’t have it in him to hate it for even a single second as he led Ignis to the top of the hill overlooking Insomnia.

His bare arms were probably going to burn and their joined hands were slippery with sweat, but after a decade of darkness it was going to take longer than a few months for Gladio to get over the novelty of the bright afternoon sun. The steadily-rebuilding Insomnia practically glowed on cloudless days, and even if Ignis couldn’t see it for himself, Gladio was more than happy to describe every inch of it to his attentive audience.

At the very least, Ignis could appreciate the way the heat of the sun felt on his skin, and when Gladio came to a stop Ignis tipped his head back to revel in the warmth.

“Here’s good,” Gladio said after a few long moments of watching Ignis- his _husband-_ grace the sun with his attention. Ignis’ unseeing but intense focus came back down to meet Gladio head-on, Gladio squeezing Ignis’ hand before lifting it to his mouth and pressing his lips just above the gleaming ring on his fourth finger. Ignis smiled, impossibly fond and endlessly accepting of Gladio’s affections, and then held out the picnic rug he’d carried up the hill.

Reluctantly releasing Ignis’ hand, Gladio dropped the basket he’d been holding and accepted the rug, spreading it out on a flat-ish patch of ground. They were up high enough that the noises from the city construction had been left far behind, and so Gladio easily heard the relaxed sigh Ignis made when he’d settled himself on the comfortable rug.

“It’s so peaceful up here,” Ignis said, leaning back on his hands with his long legs stretched out in front of him. For once it didn’t seem like the weight of the world was bearing down on him, and Gladio grinned helplessly wide when Ignis shuffled closer and leaned against Gladio, his head resting on Gladio’s shoulder. Ignis’ familiar scent, a mix of his usual hair products and nice cologne, made Gladio feel more at home than any place he’d ever lived.

Gladio was loathe to move him to grab the food but Ignis settled back against him as soon as possible. Ignis smiled into his lunch when Gladio showered him with compliments about the meal he’d put together for them, and otherwise he seemed content to sit and laugh at Gladio’s ongoing commentary about the world going on below them.

For once it felt like they had all the time in the world to just be together, and Gladio knew that the bottle of wine Ignis had stashed in the basket meant that he hadn’t been planning on doing anything else for the rest of the day either. Day drinking had never really been Ignis’ thing but he accepted the glass Gladio poured for him and dutifully held it up.

“What are we drinking to?” Ignis asked, sitting up properly and ignoring Gladio’s attempts to keep them pressed together.

“Put me on the spot, why don’t you,” Gladio muttered good-naturedly. Gently swirling the wine in his glass as he thought, he used his free hand to squeeze Ignis’ strong thigh. “To us, I guess.”

“You guess? How romantic.” Ignis’ laugh set Gladio off as well, the two of them leaning close and laughing helplessly at something that hadn’t even been that funny. Gladio put it down to how ecstatically happy Ignis always made him, the man’s presence alone enough to make him want to laugh and cry and shout his love from the top of the Citadel.

He was absolutely looking forward to a lifetime of that feeling.

“You got something better?” Gladio finally replied, noticing that Ignis had knocked his visor slightly askew while laughing. If he’d had a free hand he would have reached out to fix it, maybe taken the chance to gently run his knuckles down Ignis’ clean-shaven cheek, but he’d barely managed to finish that thought when Ignis took the visor off completely and left it sitting on the rug.

Alone at the top of the hill, without anyone else around to whisper and point and _pity,_ Ignis obviously felt comfortable enough to strip off his layers of armour and Gladio rubbed a soothing pattern into his thigh with his thumb.

“Here’s to you, Gladiolus Amicitia-Scientia,” Ignis said. He held his glass a little higher, biting at his bottom lip. “The greatest man I know.”

Touched, Gladio went to respond, but Ignis wasn’t finished.

“...And I guess you’re not a half bad husband, either.”

“ _Hey,”_ Gladio said, letting go of Ignis’ thigh to gently knock the back of his hand against it instead. “I’m the best husband you’ve ever had, and you know it.”

Ignis paused, shrugged, and obviously had to hide a smile. “I can’t argue with that.”

“Then I guess here’s to you as well, Ignis Amicitia-Scientia.” This time he did reach out to touch Ignis’ cheek, Ignis turning slightly towards his hand and leaning into it. “My one and only.”

Tapping their glasses together, neither of them moved to actually drink until Gladio reluctantly dropped his hand from Ignis’ cheek. Ignis took a long sip, Gladio entranced by the long line of his throat leading down to his ever-present necklace as he swallowed, and the tilt of Ignis’ chin was just exaggerated enough that Gladio suspected he could feel the eyes on him.

He’d married the biggest tease this side of the Disc of Cauthess and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Draining half his glass with a swig that was bigger than he’d intended, Gladio leaned forward and pressed his lips to the strong line of Ignis’ jaw, following it up by rubbing his bearded chin against Ignis’ sensitive throat. Ignis choked out a surprised laugh and shoved at Gladio’s unyielding shoulder, barely managing not to spill his wine as he tried to get away from Gladio’s tickling.

He somehow ended up sprawled out on his back with his glass held precariously above him. His whole face, unshadowed by his visor, was lit up with laughter and his hair was starting to come loose, and Gladio thought he looked perfect.

Of course, he _always_ thought that, but he figured he was allowed to notice when his husband looked even more perfect than usual.

The rest of the bottle disappeared perhaps a little too quickly, accompanied by comfortable conversation, laughter, and the decadent desserts Ignis had carefully packed in the picnic basket. There still wasn’t a cloud to be seen in the sky, and Gladio was about to label it a perfect day- as perfect as Ignis- when a sudden thought occurred to him.

“Hey, Iggy?”

Pausing where he’d stood up to put the empty wine glasses back in the basket, Ignis hummed for Gladio to continue.

“I have an idea.”

“Sounds ominous,” Ignis said dryly, but he let Gladio stand and put a hand on his lower back to guide him to a clear patch of land atop the hill. He remained patient even when Gladio left him standing there, ducking off to the side to set his phone up and leave it sitting on a rock.

“Gladio, what-”

“You’d think I’d have a good internet signal up this high,” Gladio grumbled, but he brightened up when his phone finally loaded properly and started playing the song he’d picked. Rushing back to place his hands on Ignis’ waist, he waited patiently while Ignis connected the dots and melted against him.

“Our wedding song,” Ignis murmured into Gladio’s chest, hooking his arms over Gladio’s shoulders and effortlessly picking up the rhythm of the music. Despite their shared years of formal dance training, they kept to a gentle sway and focused instead on holding each other close, Ignis tucking his head under Gladio’s chin.

“Got it in one,” Gladio said, pressing a quick kiss into Ignis’ hair. “I know how much you love this song.”

“Because it reminds me of you,” Ignis said. He hummed along under his breath, his grip on Gladio tightening, and there was nothing Gladio could do to stop himself from grinning almost painfully wide.

It wasn’t anything like their wedding, formal wear and too many guests replaced by a casual picnic and peaceful solitude, yet somehow Gladio felt almost the same as he had on that beautiful day when he’d finally married the love of his life. He figured it didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing, as long as he had Ignis beside him: he made the bad times seem less hopeless, and the good times seem even better.

Gladio would stand by him for as long as Ignis would have him, and he desperately hoped that meant forever.

When the music eventually faded out they didn’t immediately part, Gladio enjoying the feeling of Ignis pressed against him too much to be the one to kill the moment. Ignis was obviously feeling much the same, and when he eventually lifted his head from Gladio’s chest it was only to tilt his face back and invite Gladio down for a kiss.

Perfectly happy to take the hint, Gladio cupped the back of Ignis’ head in one hand and leant down enough to meet Ignis’ lips, soft and familiar and always enough to set his heart racing. Ignis’ hands slid over Gladio’s shoulders and down to his sides, bunching in the material of his tank top, but despite their need to be as close as possible their kiss was unhurried and nothing _too_ indecent.

There would be time for that later, after all.

When they finally did part, Gladio pulled back just enough to run his thumb over the scarring underneath Ignis’ eye and followed up by brushing his lips against the same spot. Ignis still had his moments of insecurity about what had happened to him, but Gladio thought the reminders of his strength and his determination made him all the more perfect.

“I love you,” he said, intimate and quiet and for Ignis’ ears alone- the only ones that mattered. They’d been out on the hill for long enough that the sun had moved slightly lower in the sky, and it lit Ignis from behind as Gladio looked down at his beautiful husband. He could see the city they’d put so much work into rebuilding further beyond him, and together the sights reminded him why the sleepless nights and crowded schedules were worth it.

He’d do anything to give Ignis the peaceful, comfortable life he deserved- that he’d _earned._ Ignis had given so much for everyone else and Gladio would give him just as much back, even when Ignis acted like he didn’t need it.

“I love you too,” Ignis said. His fingers briefly tightened in Gladio’s tank top and he stepped back, the pair of them finally pulling apart properly. “Let’s stay up here for a while longer.”

This time, when Gladio sat down on the rug, Ignis immediately placed himself between Gladio’s legs and let strong arms wrap around him, Gladio’s chest against his back and chin hooked over his shoulder. Even though it was right beside him, Ignis didn’t bother putting his visor back on, and the level of comfort he was obviously feeling left Gladio with a pleased warmth in his body.

“Tell me what else is going on down there, my love?” Ignis asked and Gladio was happy to oblige, irrationally hoping that the moment could last forever. Not that it mattered that it would eventually end: Gladio knew there would be more moments to spend with Ignis, more time to pass with his husband in his arms.

They had a whole lifetime of perfect moments ahead of them, and Gladio would be sure to appreciate every single one.

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on [Tumblr](http://socialdegenerate.tumblr.com) or [Twitter](http://twitter.com/socialdegener8)


End file.
